Zippo wrote:When I went to Hong Kong last year I signed up for one of the hotel chains membership plans, but then couldn't use it because I ended up booking the hotel with the flight as it was cheaper than separate.

Today I finally had a use for the membership - booked the Auckland Airport Novotel and saved $12 on the room and got free breakfast ... (still a $240 room that I'll be in for about 7 hours)

Picked up TR Legends Brawn recently and I have to say the sheer simplicity of his design, which is very nearly G1 Micromaster levels combined with modern articulation, is refreshing. None of this nonsense with fancy flaps and scissoring joints we've been seeing lately. Just distilled simplicity. Tuck arms in, bend knees. He induces dopamine every time I pick him up.

We need more TFs designed like this. Okay, perhaps not as simple, but certainly keep the engineering simple but elegant. I don't know how many recent TF releases that I've really wanted to like have been let down by trying to be overly clever with their engineering. With official TFs this doesn't mesh well with the corner cutting they incorporate into all of their builds. With 3P's - you end up with awesome things like Wardog who you transform once and leave him in one mode forever due to the painfully over complicated transformation.

NKF wrote:Picked up TR Legends Brawn recently and I have to say the sheer simplicity of his design, which is very nearly G1 Micromaster levels combined with modern articulation, is refreshing. None of this nonsense with fancy flaps and scissoring joints we've been seeing lately. Just distilled simplicity. Tuck arms in, bend knees. He induces dopamine every time I pick him up.

We need more TFs designed like this. Okay, perhaps not as simple, but certainly keep the engineering simple but elegant. I don't know how many recent TF releases that I've really wanted to like have been let down by trying to be overly clever with their engineering. With official TFs this doesn't mesh well with the corner cutting they incorporate into all of their builds. With 3P's - you end up with awesome things like Wardog who you transform once and leave him in one mode forever due to the painfully over complicated transformation.

- NKF

This is exactly why I've been getting the Mech fans toys and Hot Soliders bots(they are the same company by the way). Easy simple transformations but with better articulation and paint then the Hasbro offerings. Normally in the $20-$30 price point shipped too.

Den Den town in Osaka is way better than Akihabara was in Tokyo for Transformers; that being said, be prepared to pay a pretty penny for everything. I didn't get anything I wanted simply because it was far too expensive.

Zippo wrote:Den Den town in Osaka is way better than Akihabara was in Tokyo for Transformers; that being said, be prepared to pay a pretty penny for everything. I didn't get anything I wanted simply because it was far too expensive.

I've been there! I remember one store had a human sized G1 Optimus in the window. Loved it!

Made the final payment of my student load and changed my tax code at work, removing the SL from the endNeed to wait a few months for it to all be finalised, but good for it to be over after ~10 years of paying

Zippo wrote:Made the final payment of my student load and changed my tax code at work, removing the SL from the endNeed to wait a few months for it to all be finalised, but good for it to be over after ~10 years of paying

Oh yes, I remember the day I got to make that tax code change - it's so liberating! Also took me 10 years to clear my student loan.

Good job, Zip!

"..you get more classy every time.""..you are a gentleman and a scholar."

Zippo wrote:Made the final payment of my student load and changed my tax code at work, removing the SL from the endNeed to wait a few months for it to all be finalised, but good for it to be over after ~10 years of paying

Oh yes, I remember the day I got to make that tax code change - it's so liberating! Also took me 10 years to clear my student loan.

Good job, Zip!

So good! I actually overpaid mine accidentally by a few months so got a nice tax return out of it too when i paid mine off

Getting gardeners in to clear the garden .. Mum was the gardener and while I have been trying to keep up, the weeds were just getting away.So I got some gardeners in and while its only been a day and they have quite a bit more to do, the result is amazing so far.

Saw a random instock listing for 2013 TF Go! Wheeljack, which I ordered.Today it was filled .. have no idea how the store even had one in stock, but glad I could get it since I have been picking up TF Go! items as I can - did not like Japanese Arms Micron toys due to the micron ports and Hasbro's Prime toys were "substandard"